Improved treadle for operating machinery



'VILLIAllf S MITH HAL L,

OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED TREADLE FOR OPERATING MACHINERY,l

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 86,833, dated February9, 1869.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SMITH HALL, of Quincy, in the county ofNorfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inTreadle Mechanism; and I do hereby declare that the'followin g, taken inconnection with the drawings which accompany and form part of thisspecification, is a description of my invention sucient to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice it.

The invention relates to the arrangement of mechanism for imparting acontinuous rotative movement from one or more treadles to a iiywheelshaft, to which is to be belted or geared the main shaft of the machineto be driven by means of the treadle, and to the combination with suchmechanism of a mechanism for arresting movement of the iiy-wheel shaft.

The drawings represent a treadle mechanism embodying the invention.

A shows a rear elevation of thc mechanism; B, a section on the line wa'. a denotes a table for supporting the machine to be driven by thetreadle mechanism and the mechanism to which the treadle imparts director immediate motion.

In cross-pieces Z1, running from post to post at the end of the table,are bearings for the treadle-shaft c, each foot or treadle-piece dturning near one end loosely on this shaft. At or near the opposite end,each foot-piece d is connected by a rod, c, with one end of a springpawlor clutch-levenf, fulcrumed and rocking on a shaft, g, upon which is agear-wheel, h, having 011 011e or both sides a flange or lip, k. Thefront arm of each lever extends beyond the fulcrum-shaft and out beyondthe wheel h, and at its end it carries an arm, z', (jointed loosely toit by a pin, In) fromwhich project two pins, l m, which embrace theila-n ge oi the wheel 7L.

By gravity or by a spring, n, the arm i is thrown out of radial positioninto an inclined position, opposite tothat in which the arm is moved bythe descent of the treadle, in which position the pins press or biteupon the wheeliiange, so that if thc arm/ is rotated while held in suchposition in a direction opposite to such inclination, the pins willgrasp the iiange and carry with them the wheel, while, if the arm bebrought toward a radial position, the flange will be released from thebite ofthe pins, thus allowing the flange to rotate 'reely between them.Each lever f is brought to normal position by a spring, o, each treadlebeing then tipped up, as seen at B. Now, as each or either treadle ispressed down by the foot the motion imparted to the lever f causesV thepins lm to rotate the gear-wheel, and when the treadle stops or reachesits lowest point the motion imparted to the wheel causes the flange tobring the two pins slightly toward a radial line, or sufficiently so todestroy the hold of the pins upon the flange, so that theA rotation ofthe wheel continues, the spring returning each treadle to its normalposition, as the pressure upon it is released when. the foot tips up.

Geared to the gear-shaft by a pinion, p, is the y-wheel shaft q, whichcarries the iiywheel r and the wheel s, through which the shaft isgeared to the machine to be driven by the treadle mechanism. Now, thiswheel might be placed upon the shaft of the wheel directly driven by thefriction-clutches; but as each clutch could then only impart a directmotion to the wheel equal to the extent of rotative movement of theclutch, and as the momentum of the fly-wheel can be greatly increased bygiving to it one or more positive revolutions at each action of thefriction-clutch upon the gear-wheel, I place the fly upon acounter-shaft geared directly to the shaft of the wheel upon which theclutch acts.

To increase or diminish the leverage exerted by each friction-clutchlever, I connect the treadle to the lever by an adjustable slide, whichis adjusted and lixed in position relatively to the end of' the lever,or more or less distant from the fulerum-shaft, by a screw, u, and sloto.

In a machine driven by such mechanism, in which power to continue orkeep up the motion of the mechanism is accumulated in a ilywheel, and inwhich the machine or mechanism to be operated is placed upon the top ofa bench or table, some provision is necessary for instantly stopping themechanism without reaching beneath the table for that purpose.

For this purposeI use a long brake-slice, w, placed above the fly-wheel,and fixed to the end of a spindle, x, which is jointed to or extendsthrough a lever, f1, fulcrumed back of the spindle, as seen at z, thefront end of the .2 Sessa ever being jointed to a rod, a?, slidingvertically through the.table, the top of which rod bears a ringer-piece,b2. On the rod is a shoulder, c2, which, when the rod is pressed down,catches under a plate, cl2. The brake-spindle is pressed up and thebrake kept normally out of contact with the periphery of the fly-wheelby a spring, c2.

When the Ymechanism is running, if the fui"- ger-piece be depressed, thelever will force down the brake and instantly arrest the movement of theily-Wheel, and thereby stop the driven mechanism, and the mechanism isthus locked in position by t'he catch on the rod a2 being pressed underthe plate d2.

It will be observed that the clutch-arm is bent in such manner as tobring the point of support of the arm into the plane of action of theclutch-pins, by which provision the alternating grasp and release of theclutchA are made certain.

The hole inthe arm, through which the pin upon which the arm is hungprojects, is made .oblong in the direction ofthe length of the arm, sothat the arm can readily slip slightly upon the pin to assume aninclined or a radial position, as the clutch-lever moves in alternatedirections. This construction of the arm is shown at C, which representsa section through the hole and clutch-pins.

l claim*- 1. In combination with the treadle or ireadles d, spring leveror levers f, and gear Wheel h, the friction clutch or clutches lm, Whenarranged to drive the-wheel in one di- 'rection and slip upon it in theopposite direction, substantially as described.

2. Also, the adjustable connection of the impelling lever or levers withthe treadle or treadles, substantially' as described.

Also, in combination With a paWl or clutch driven Wheel, actuated by atreadle or treadles, the fly-wheel shaft, geared directly to the pawl orclutch driven Wheel, substantially as de scribed.

A. Also, in combination with a treadle mechanism, constructed an darranged as described, the brake w, iixe'd tov the foot of a spindle, x,jointed to a lever, y, such lever being depressed by a Jnger-piece, b2,and raised by a spring, c2, substantially as shown and described.

5. Also, hanging the paWl-clutch arm directly in the line of thewheel-flange and clutclr pins, substantially as described.

6. Also, the provision for end movement ot' the pawl-clutch upon itssupporting-pin, substantially as described.

7. Also, the paWl-cluteh, as made With round clutch-pins, incontradstinction to a clutch having its griping part made as a slot inthe material of the clutch.

WTM. SMITH HALL.

XVitneSses:

J. B. CROSBY, S. 13. KIDDER.

